Clearing the Mist
by TipsyKitsune
Summary: Yagura was lonely. Ever since he had a biju sealed into him, people avoided him like the plague. This all changes when he meets his new genin team. Join him in a journey filled with fun, friends, and sadness. Very slight YaguraxOC
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Prologue**

* * *

"Have you brought him?" a man asked, stepping into the light. His black hair and squinted eyes were examining the woman standing before him. He noticed a young boy clutching the clothes of the woman and staring at him with pink eyes.

"Yes. Here he is." Then the woman gently pushed the boy towards the man. "Go on now."

The boy walked up to the man staring at the man's blue and white robes and hat. "Mizukage-sama," he said in a whisper as he bowed.

The Mizukage looked down at the boy. "In two years, you will be graduating from the academy. But before that, you will become a very important asset for the village. Come." The boy's eyes showed signs of hesitation, but he slowly nodded.

The Mizukage walked past the boy and out the door. He didn't bother to check if the boy was following him. Nobody would disobey him. After walking through the mist for what seemed to be hours, he stopped in front of a cave. He turned around to the see the boy staring at the gaping hole with wide eyes.

They two figures walked into the cave before halting to stand in the center, old pillars surrounding them. The boy noticed a large urn sitting beneath what seemed to be an altar in the center. The Mizukage ordered him to lie down on the altar. He did as he was told. Then he heard another person enter the cave, though he didn't dare disobey the Mizukage to look up.

"Is it ready to begin?" a deep, yet scratchy voice asked.

"Yes. All preparations have been completed. The sacrifice is already there." The boy felt eyes turn to look at him. What did the Mizukage mean by sacrifice? What was going to happen to him?

"Then I will now begin." Suddenly the boy felt excruciating pain. The cave was lit up with red, and black spots danced in his eyes as the pain at his stomach spread. He could feel his consciousness fading as if something more powerful was entering his body.

He was screaming with his eyes wide in fear, but the two others watched from the shadows. Everything went dark as the pain began to fade. His sweat-drenched body felt heavy like it was no longer his own. The boy heard the two men walk towards him.

"Was it successful?" the Mizukage asked.

"It seems so," the other man replied. "This one is strong. I believe it will serve the village well."

"Good. We will not repeat our mistakes with the last two. I will ensure that it is never allowed to leave the country without my permission."

The boy was confused. What was the "it" they referred to? What mistakes were made? He glanced in the direction of the voices. He saw a middle-aged man looking down at him.

"Ah, it managed to remain conscious throughout the sealing." The Mizukage gazed down at the boy with a blank face.

"Rare… I have chosen well. From today forward, you are Kirigakure's jinchuriki."

Jinchuriki? He understood now. He was the "it." He was the sacrifice.

* * *

**A/N**

**Thanks for giving my story a shot. I wanted to write this to explore the plot hole that is Yagura's life. It will deviate from canon later on.**

**As for timeline, Yagura is born 2 years after Kakashi. Rin died right before the events of the prologue occur. I imagine that the Sanbi did not take too long to reform, so they were able to seal it into Yagura pretty soon. **

**Hope you enjoy the story!**

**\- TK**


	2. Chapter 1: Enter Team 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 1: Enter Team 3**

* * *

Wearing her Hidden Mist forehead protector on her right sleeve, Reika stepped into the classroom for the last time. Their academy teacher was standing in the front of the room holding what appeared to be a list. There were many students in the room though she only knew a few.

"Today, you are officially ninja. Please proceed to the next room when your team is called," said their teacher. She waited for her name to be called. Slowly teams were formed, and people left the room. Soon enough there were only three left.

"Team 3: Tsukiasa Reika, Ketsuyoku Eisen, Karatachi Yagura. Your Sensei has requested you to stay here and wait for him. That is all." Then he left the room.

Great. Now she was stuck with two boys she barely knew. She looked over at her new teammates. Eisen was sitting on top of a desk polishing his sword. He had spiky, dark brown hair and amber eyes. He wore a jinbei that had long black pants and a white shirt, and a sheath was strapped to his right side. His forehead protector was tied around his forehead which kept his hair from falling in front of his eyes. As he was carefully handling his blade, she knew she wouldn't want to get in a fight with him.

Her other teammate Yagura, on the other hand, was staring out the window into the unending mist. He had messy, sand-colored hair which stuck up in some places and round pink eyes. He wore a green muffler on top of a dark gray shirt with a teal sash around his waist and tall brown boots. His forehead protector was attached to the front of his shirt. She felt she would get along with him better. Now that she thought about it, none of her friends ever mentioned him before. She wondered if he was one of those distant types.

Suddenly, he glanced over at her. She was so busted. He caught her staring at him. She quickly looked away, readjusted her glasses, and began to rub her straight black hair between her fingers. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and a man marched in.

"Hello, my name is Hozuki Mangetsu, and I'm the jonin in charge now." His deep purple eyes stared down at his three new pupils. He was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, and his silver hair was resting at his shoulders. His eyes passed over each of his new students. "Pajamas, Shorty, and Glasses." He sighed. "I'd like to skip the fluffy introductions and get to the point. State your name and why you want to be a shinobi."

The purple eyes looking at Eisen as he rose his sword into the air. "I'm Eisen. My goal is to become Mizukage. You'll all be my subordinates one day a-ha-ha." His sword pointed at Mangetsu as he pouted, "And I like wearing this outfit thank you very much."

Yagura spoke next. "My name is Yagura. I have no personal reason to be here but if I were to state one, I'd like to learn to control and utilize my chakra."

All eyes turned to Reika: "My name is Reika. I'd like to become a strong shinobi and one day stand by the Mizukage's side."

Eisen yelled out, "That'll be next to me." Reika just sighed as she realized what he said, and Mangetsu was shaking his head.

"Alright. Now that we got that out of the way, I'd like to test your abilities. Meet me at training ground 32 tomorrow at ten. Until then, dismissed." Then he flickered away.

Eisen and Yagura started to get up to leave, but she didn't want them to.

She blurted out, "Since we don't know each other well, why don't we grab some food together?"

"I'm out. Gotta go practice. Who knows what Sensei's gonna throw at us." Eisen sheathed his sword, jumped down, and left the room.

"Yagura-kun?" She looked at him hopefully.

"I… don't want to be a burden…"

"It'll be fun. Let's go." Reika gave him the best puppy-eyes she could.

"Fine…" He finally gave in. They left the classroom and headed into the village. As she was walking down the road with Yagura, she felt nervous. It was just him and her. She turned to look at him and noticed he was walking in the shadows like he was trying to dodge something.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"N-nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, come on. We're teammates now. We're supposed to worry about each other." She started to notice the townspeople were looking at them – wait no – him suspiciously. "Don't go near it. That monster," she heard one woman say to her daughter. There were many other whispers surrounding them.

They had to escape this awkward situation. She reached out, grabbed his hand, and started running as fast as she could until they reached the forest on the outskirts of town.

They were both panting by the time she stopped on the rocky riverbank. "You're going to tell me what's up, or I'll trap you in my water prison jutsu until you do." She began forming the seals.

He looked at her with annoyed and skeptical eyes. "I don't believe ninja at our level can pull off a jutsu of that caliber."

She stared at him with sharp, glaring eyes, her hands moving with precision. "Watch me."

Yagura sighed and sat down on one of the rocks. Was he finally going to tell her? "The truth is…" He bit his lip. "I'm a…" He mumbled a word.

"You're a what?"

"A…" He mumbled again.

"Okay I'm seriously going to activate my jutsu." Reika started forming seals again.

"I'm a jinchuriki," he said with a sigh. "Now do you understand? The villagers keep their distance because of this monster." He pointed to his stomach.

"I see... So, what of it?" She smiled but the look he had wasn't one of relief but of worry.

"Are you going to hate me too?"

"No. I would never hate you Yagura-kun. We're friends."

"Friends? But you said we are just teammates…" He looked her in the eyes. Now she understood why he was so distant in the classroom. He probably never had a friend before.

"And teammates are friends. Come on. Let's head back to the village." She reached out to him, but his hand recoiled at her touch. He turned away from her looking in the distance.

"No. Let's remain here. It will only be trouble for you to be with me there."

"Alright… if that's what you want." Her stomach grumbled. "But I sure am hungry."

Then, Yagura pulled out a fishing rod. "Wait just a moment." Soon they were sitting in front of the campfire with fish being grilled. Reika grabbed one and bit into it.

"So good. You caught these so fast. How'd you do that?"

"I come out here a lot when I crave fish." He bit into his fish. "I'm not welcome in many restaurants in the village. It's also very eaceful and makes me forget why I'm here."

"Why you're here? You did say earlier that you just wanted to learn chakra control. Did you mean you wanted to learn how to control the biju chakra inside of you?"

"Yeah. I'm being kept in Kirigakure as a weapon, so I need to learn if I want to be useful for Mizukage-sama. The last jinchuriki was killed two years ago, and I was selected as the next." His eyes looked in disdain at the village behind them.

She reached out and put her hand onto his. "You are a Kiri shinobi and a member of Team 3. I refuse to believe that you exist to be a weapon. You're not the biju. You are Yagura and my friend."

"Reika-san… Thank you. You're right. I want to become stronger as a shinobi and as a friend."

They sat there for a while with each other until the sun went down.

* * *

**A/N**

**Hope it's ok that I made Mangetsu their jonin sensei. I needed a Kiri character since I didn't want too many OCs. **

**\- TK**


	3. Chapter 2: Waterfall Climbing

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 2: Waterfall Climbing**

* * *

Yagura was waiting at the mist-filled training grounds when he heard, "You know you're pretty short for our age. You look like you're eight. Are you sure you're skilled enough to be here?"

Yagura whipped around to see Eisen walking up to him. Annoyance built up inside of him. "I'm twelve, not eight, and my skills are the best in my class." He glanced over to see Eisen toying with his sword. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure."

Yagura crossed his arms and turned away. When were the others going to get here? Then Reika arrived panting and Mangetsu flickered into existence.

"Finally. Now that everyone's here, the adventures of Team 3 can begin." Eisen said. Reika giggled while Yagura was still pouting.

"Good morning. Today you will be battling me, so I can measure your strengths and come up with the best team formations." Worried glances were passed around. A battle against a jonin should not be taken lightly.

"So, who should begin?" Mangetsu look at each of his students before he decided. "Reika, you're up."

"M-me?" She obviously was worried that the battle would go wrong.

"Yes. The rules are simple: don't kill me."

She started running towards him with a kunai in hand, but he easily dodged her attack. Then pulling out shuriken, she tried again, and they cut him… or so they thought. Mangetsu's body turned into water where the shuriken hit. Reika stopped in confusion and switched to ninjutsu. She created a water clone to fight while she snuck up behind him and formed seals.

"Water Prison Jutsu!" Yagura thought she got him, but when they looked inside, they saw a log. He had substituted at the last second. He appeared behind her with a kunai at her throat.

"Okay. Let's stop here." He lowered his kunai. "Impressive ninjutsu, but you need more practice."

"Hai Mangetsu-sensei. But why couldn't I cut you?"

"Ah, very observant. The Hozuki clan possesses the hydrification technique where we can change to liquid. Normal physical attacks have no effect. Well, let us move on to the next match." His eyes turned to Eisen.

"Oh yeah." Eisen leapt out in front of Mangetsu and drew his sword. "I am so ready."

Yagura could tell that Eisen would be considered the loud one, but the last thing he needed was some overly egotistical, optimistic kid on their team.

The match was soon over with Eisen's sword pointed at his own chin. Mangetsu had grabbed his sword during the fighting. Eisen was pouting as he came back.

"Eisen," Mangetsu began, "Don't be discouraged. Kenjutsu is difficult to master."

"Hmph" was all he said.

It was finally Yagura's turn. He stepped forward holding a double hooked staff with a green rock-rose at the larger end. During his time at the academy, he typically used kunai and shuriken to hide his bojutsu, but he knew he would need it in this fight.

Yagura began to run up swinging his staff, but it harmlessly passed through Mangetsu's body. That was going to be a bother. Then Mangetsu grabbed the end of his staff and threw Yagura down. He stood up in time to dodge a few shuriken.

"Wind Style: Great Typhoon." A small breeze passed through, but it was enough to distract. Yagura hooked the back of Mangetsu's shirt and slammed him into the ground. Before he could attack again, Mangetsu shot a few water bullets at him. Yagura leaped out of the way.

"Alright. You have great control over your staff, but your ninjutsu is lacking." He looked over to the others. "Now we are going to train in water walking," he said.

"We already know how to water walk. They taught us at the academy." Eisen remarked.

"Not this kind of water walking. Follow me." They walked behind Mangetsu until the trees cleared up to reveal a waterfall. "You will be climbing that."

"T-that's impossible." Eisen complained.

"It is very much possible. Watch." Mangetsu gathered chakra at his feet and began to walk up the waterfall. "You must focus your chakra carefully. One wrong step and you will fall." He climbed to the top and motioned for them to start.

Yagura stepped onto the pool of water, slowly making his way towards the waterfall. But one step upwards and he fell.

"This isn't too bad." someone shouted from above. Looking up, Yagura saw Reika standing with Mangetsu. "Come on guys. Or else you'll fall behind me." Looking to his right, he saw Eisen struggling as well. How would they be able to do this?

"I'm going to take Reika over there for some other training." Mangetsu said.

There's no way he's going to lose to Reika. First, he needed to get a sense of the waterfall's current, so he sat himself below it. The rushing sound in his ears was excruciatingly loud but he refused to be bothered by it. He closed his eyes.

Suddenly the waterfall's sound changed. He opened his eyes to see he was standing on a large pool of water surrounded by tall, looming trees. In front of him stood a large waterfall. He heard something very large approach.

**"So, you've finally made it here boy."** A large shadow spoke from behind the waterfall.

"Who are you?" He reached for his staff.

**"No need to get defensive. I'm not going to hurt you. I don't really care for that. If we were talking Kyubi, though, he would attack in a second."**

"Kyubi?"

**"Yeah, my so-called brother." **If the Kyubi was the shadow's brother, then that must mean it was…

"You are the Sanbi? The biju sealed within me?"

**"Bright boy. That's correct. I am the Sanbi."** He stood in disbelief. He was speaking with the Sanbi. The one sealed in him. The one scaring the villagers. The one causing his pain.

**"So, waterfall climbing huh?" **

"H-how did you know?"

**"I am in you, so I know what your body is doing." **Why hadn't he thought of that before. His body was a vessel of two beings. Now that he thought about it, he had also heard of jinchuriki dying when the biju is extracted from their bodies. Might as well ask.

"Are you going to try and release the seal?"

**"Silly human. I could care less. I'd rather you not disturb me."** Then the Sanbi retreated.


	4. Chapter 3: Night Reflection

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 3: Night Reflection**

* * *

"...gura-kun. Yagura-kun." His eyes blinked open.

"Reika-san?" She was sitting with a worried look.

"Thank goodness you're alright. When Eisen-kun told us you fell unconscious, I was so worried." She tackled him with a hug.

"You're squishing me..."

"Sorry." Reika let him go after one last squeeze.

"What happened?" His mind was still a bit hazy.

"Well you passed out underneath the waterfall, so Eisen-kun brought you here and went to get us."

"How long have I been out?"

"Heh, give or take an hour," said Eisen with a smug look.

"An hour?" Yagura was shocked. The conversation with the Sanbi didn't feel that long. Wait that's right. He had talked with the Sanbi.

"Yeah, it's true. We thought we might have to bring you to the hospital. You were unconscious for so long..." Reika stated. She looked as if she was going to cry.

"Well he's okay now so there's no need for that" Mangetsu said.

Yagura tried to sit up but suddenly the world was spinning. He gripped his head.

"Don't try to get up yet. You are in no condition to move. Sensei performed some first aid, but your fatigue can't be healed with medical jutsu." Reika started to push him back down to the ground.

"I'm fine," he snapped. She backed off and looked as if she was about to cry again. "Sorry..."

"It's alright" she said although her face said otherwise. "I'll help you get home."

"Heh, better not faint on our mission. I'm going home." Eisen left the training grounds.

"We will be meeting tomorrow morning at the office. Don't be late." Then Mangetsu disappeared.

It was just Reika and Yagura left. He looked over at her. Her hair was falling in front of her face and covering her glasses. She reached up to tuck it behind her ear, but it wouldn't stay put.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?" Her cheeks turned red. "I-it's getting late. Here." She offered her hand and helped him off the ground. They began to walk back to the village.

"What were you doing with Sensei earlier?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just working on some new techniques. He said that I have great chakra control, so I can learn a variety of jutsu. I want to specialize in medical jutsu, so I can protect our team."

"That's so thoughtful. Thank you." Yagura smiled.

"W-what? Why?"

"You're trying your best to help our team, even going as far as learning a new jutsu."

"Well yeah. We're friends after all." She gave him a smile. "So which way is your home?"

"It's not far from here." He pointed to an old building a bit down the road. "I can go alone from here. Don't worry about me."

"Don't be silly. I tasked myself with getting you home safe and I'm gonna see it through."

The truth was, though, that he didn't want her to see his home. It was a lonely mess, just like him. "You can't. Just leave me be. I can get there fine on my own." He stormed off, leaving her behind.

He walked up the steps to his apartment and walked in. "Why do I feel like guilty for leaving her? Oh well. Forget it."

Yagura lied down on his bed. "I got called silly twice today. Once by a biju and once by a friend. What am I doing with my life?" He looked out the window. The night was clear, and the stars shined through. He put his hand on his stomach. "How do I become strong when you're here too?"

* * *

Reika couldn't believe that he just left her in the middle of the road. Pouting she walked back to her own house. When she entered, she said, "Tadaima." Of course, there was no reply. Her parents – adoptive parents – were never home since they were hunter-nin, always searching for rogues.

She made herself some dinner and sat down at the empty table.

"Tomorrow is the first day of missions. I'll make the best of it." She washed up and walked into her room. Lying down, she thought of her earlier training.

_Mangetsu looked at Reika and handed her a piece of paper. "This is a special kind of paper which tells you your primary chakra nature by the way it reacts." _

_She sent chakra into the paper which became wet in her hands. "Looks like you're a water user. Typical. Since we're known for kenjutsu, I'm going to show you a new technique. You'll be able to do it considering you can use the water prison jutsu." _

_Mangetsu stepped back and formed three seals yelling "Water Sword Jutsu!" Suddenly he was holding a blade of water. He attacked a nearby tree and cut one of the branches clean off. Reika was shocked to say the least. _

_"__So, I'd like you to learn this jutsu. First let's see you with a regular sword." He unsealed two wooden swords from a scroll and tossed one to her. She held the sword and tightened her grip. She ran towards him, ducking his swing, and struck him in the knee causing him to lose his balance. _

_"__How was that?"_

_"__Great. I can see your kenjutsu is still strong. Though, why don't you carry a sword?"_

_"__I don't want to." Her eyes clouded as she thought back. "Many things happened. I'd rather not, but I'll be able to do this jutsu." _

_"__I understand. Then let us begin learning."_


	5. Chapter 4: First Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 4: First Mission**

* * *

"Good morning Yagura-kun. Eisen-kun." said Reika. "Mangetsu-sensei isn't here yet?"

"No. He's late," Eisen remarked.

"He's not late yet baka," Yagura mumbled.

"Eh. What was that? You want a piece of me?"

"Eisen-kun stop it. Yagura-kun don't you start fighting him." Reika put her arms up in between the two. Was it going to be her stopping those two from now on? She sighed.

"Hello Team 3. I got our mission for today." Mangetsu appeared behind the three. "We will be capturing something – probably a wild animal – that has been damaging a farm lately. Be wary though. The mission is in the Land of Waves. I don't want anyone to get in trouble."

"Easy peasy. Let's get this over with." Eisen started running off towards the east gate.

"Eisen, we're leaving from the west gate," called out Mangetsu.

"Uh, I knew that." Eisen turned around red with embarrassment.

The team set off walking on the river road. After a bit, Mangetsu had a great idea.

"Since you two weren't able to complete your waterfall training yesterday, let's continue that here."

"But Sensei, we are nowhere near a waterfall. How do you expect us to do it?" Eisen complained.

"See the river? We are nearing the rapids. You can walk alongside us."

"Understood," Yagura calmly walked onto the water preparing himself.

"And Reika, if you would continue your work with the water sword."

"Yes sir. After this, will you teach me some basic medical jutsu?" She pulled out a wooden sword and practiced enveloping it with water.

"Sensei, what's she doing?" Eisen asked.

"I showed her a jutsu which can use water as a sword. She's working on mastering it."

"Wow that sounds so much cooler than water walking. Can you show me too? Please."

"No, you won't ever be able to master this if you can't control your chakra. Now stop wasting time." Then Mangetsu went back to focusing on the road ahead.

* * *

( An Hour Later)

Reika watched as her teammates walked through the rapids. She shuffled over to Mangetsu.

"Sensei, how can he be that energetic even when he fails?" She looked at Eisen.

"Ah, I believe it's because he's from the lower class. He seeks attention. But that's not my story to tell."

"I see…" Suddenly Eisen came cheerfully running up to her.

"Did you see? I was able to walk through the rapids. I'm awesome right?"

"Not particularly no. I was able to do it on the first try."

"Ouch that hurt Reika-san. By the way, can I call you Reika?"

"Yeah sure do as you please. Same to you Yagura-kun." Yagura wasn't paying much attention though.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Call me Reika, no honorifics necessary 'kay? We're friends after all." Reika gave him a grin.

"And you can call me Yagura."

"Sounds good Yagura."

"Since we're doing this, you guys can call me Eisen." Eisen said.

"We will be going by boat from here." Mangetsu pointed to the port town below. The team got onto the boat and set out. The mist was blocking the view, but when they arrived, they saw a sad sight. The village looked neglected. Buildings were barely standing, and the villagers looked somber.

"What has happened here," Mangetsu whispered. "I remember this place being much livelier." He turned to a nearby man. "Can you tell me what happened to the village?"

"You mustn't be from around here. Some rogue ninja has been attacking our village and stealing our goods. We haven't been living this last year, only surviving." Then the man walked away.

The team continued to the farm. They looked out at the green – no, burnt black – pastures.

"Whoa this looks horrible." said Eisen.

"Looks like we are dealing with something more than wild animals." Mangetsu walked over and inspected the burns. "These looked like they were caused by a fire jutsu."

Reika approached Mangetsu. "What are we going to do Sensei?"

"We'll see this mission through, or Kiri's name would be sullied. Let's go meet the client but let me do all the talking." With that, they walked down to the small wooden house.

When they knocked a voice replied, "Who is it?"

"We are ninja sent from Kirigakure."

"Ah, so the request arrived safely." A young man opened the door. "My name is Iwao. Come in please."

"What has happened to your farm? There seems to be an arson on the loose?"

"Oh, you saw that…" The man gave a quiet sigh. "I guess I owe you an explanation. The one causing the damage is a leaf rogue ninja. Apparently, this man left his village after the Third Shinobi War and has been in ours ever since."

"I expected that was the case." Mangetsu shook his head. "You shouldn't have lied. I'm not sure my genin team is capable of handling this mission."

"Please you have to help our village. Don't leave us like this." A young girl ran into the room.

"Moe, I told you not to disturb me while I was talking to the ninja."

"But Papa, if they don't help, we won't have a home left and I don't want to leave. This is the house where I grew up with Mama." Moe started crying.

"Moe, please go back to your room." Eisen's eyes watched empathetically as she left still sobbing.

"I apologize for my daughter. She has been like that ever since her mother passed. My wife was a former ninja and tried to confront the rogue. However…" Iwao expression turned grim.

"You don't have to explain any further. We understand. We will do everything we can to help."

"Thank you very much. We are in your debt. If you would please excuse me." Iwao bowed and left the room, probably to go find Moe.


	6. Chapter 5: Rogue Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 5: Rogue Encounter**

* * *

Four ninja crouched down behind the bushes. "Are we just going to sit here? I want some action." The boy who spoke drew his sword. Suddenly a fist hit his head.

"Quiet Eisen. It's all we can do. We don't know when the rogue will strike next."

"But Sensei…" Eisen looked up at the purple eyes.

"Do you think ninja should just carelessly go looking for a battle? We have to be stealthy."

"Okay…" He sheathed his sword.

Yagura leaned against a tree with his staff on his shoulder. Looking to the left, he saw Reika practicing her medical jutsu. When would she relax?

Suddenly, there was a chill in the air. "Sensei, somebody's there." Yagura pointed down to the fields.

"Yes, I know. Listen you three. Don't come out unless I give the signal." Mangetsu flickered away. The three watched as another ninja appeared. "So, you're the one causing trouble huh?"

"Kirigakure" the other ninja hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to stop you from destroying this village any further. Hidden Mist Jutsu." Soon the entire field was covered in a thick mist. The other ninja shifted his feet and entered a defensive stance. A kunai struck the rogue in the knee. The wound began to bleed. He switched to the offensive.

"Great Fireball Jutsu!" The mist lit up orange.

"That's a dangerous jutsu you got there. Since you are adept with it, I assume you are an Uchiha?" Mangetsu stepped in front of the rogue.

"Seems you are familiar with my clan, but that alone won't be enough to save you." The rogue's eyes suddenly turned red. "Sharingan! Let's see you evade this." Mangetsu shot two water bullets into the air before taking a defensive stance. The Uchiha smirked. "What was that? Testing out your ammo?"

* * *

_"Listen up. There will be two signals. When the enemy pulls out his trump card, I will fire water bullets in the air. If you hear one shot, come in to assist. Eisen and Yagura on my sides. Reika cover my back. If you hear two shots, go back to the house and evacuate Iwao-san and Moe-san. Understand?"_

_"Hai Mangetsu-sensei," they nodded. _

_"Good."_

"Come. Let's get to the house." Yagura stood up.

"But if the enemy is that dangerous, shouldn't we go hel-"

Reika interrupted him. "No Eisen. He told us to protect Iwao-san and Moe-chan no matter what."

"Fine… Let's go." The three ninjas stood up and ran over to the house. When they entered, they saw Iwao scolding Moe.

"-an't bother the ninja more than you have already Moe. They have come a long way to- Ah ninja-tachi. Is something the matter?"

"Iwao-san, Moe-san, Mangetsu-sensei has requested that we escort you to the village. It's too dangerous for us to stay here. Please come with us." Yagura signaled them to exit.

"I see. Come Moe. They will help keep us safe."

"Yada. I want to stay here."

"But Moe…"

"Yada. Yada. Yada." She was shaking her head vigorously.

Eisen knelt beside her and put a hand on her head. "It's okay. During these times, you need to be strong, or else your papa will worry about you." Her puffy eyes looked up at him.

Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise in the kitchen. Yagura turned his head. "Eisen. Let's go. Reika stay here and protect Iwao-san."

"Hey. Who made you the boss?" Eisen whined.

"Just go already. Sensei may be in trouble." Reika pushed the two towards the back of the house.

Yagura and Eisen stepped into the kitchen. There was a large hole in the back wall. Yagura grabbed his staff while Eisen drew his sword. "Let's go." they said in unison.

They rushed on the field seeing Mangetsu on the ground and a red-eyed man above him. The mist cleared up. Eisen rushed forward, almost cutting the man before he leapt away. Yagura went and helped Mangetsu up, and all three turned to face the Uchiha.

"I thought I told you… to… stay away." Mangetsu was out of breath.

"We couldn't ignore you any longer Sensei," Yagura said.

"Where's Reika?"

"Getting those two to safety. But never mind that. What happened?"

"Uchiha. He possesses the Sharingan, a powerful visual power. It can see through attacks, copy them, and even cast genjutsu. You mustn't look him in the eye."

"Eisen. Don't look him in the eye." Yagura yelled towards his teammate. But it was too late. Eisen turned around, his eyes dull, and begin to attack Yagura. "Baka. Snap out of it."

* * *

Yagura was almost out of chakra. What was he going to do?

**'Looks like you're in trouble.'**

'Who's there? Wait that voice… Sanbi? Wait are we talking in my mind.'

**'Figured it out boy? I'd hate for you to fall unconscious in this situation, so I decided to communicate like this.'**

'What do you want?'

**'Relax, relax. I want to help you. I'm giving you some of my chakra.'**

Suddenly Yagura felt a surge in power. This was the Sanbi's chakra? It was so powerful. He jumped as Eisen's sword came down and grabbed his staff. Running towards Eisen as fast as he could, he jabbed his staff into Eisen's stomach. With that, Eisen keeled over and fell unconscious.

"You're next" he said pointing his staff at the Uchiha.


	7. Chapter 6: To Be Strong

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 6: To Be Strong**

* * *

Reika had escorted Iwao and Moe to the village and was now running back to the farm. Were those three alright? She shouldn't worry. They're strong after all.

When she arrived, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. A masked boy stood behind the rogue with his hand thrusted into the rogue's chest, lightning-bright chakra chirping. Yagura and Mangetsu were standing there in shock while Eisen was unconscious on the ground. She ran towards them.

"Everyone. Are you okay?" Hearing her voice, Mangetsu snapped out of his daze.

"Who are you?" he asked inspecting the masked boy.

"I was tasked with eliminating this man. He deserted our village. He won't be bothering you any longer." The boy pulled his hand out.

"I see… Well we won't hinder your job any longer."

Yagura started fuming. The boy looked over at Yagura and froze.

Kakashi turned to look at a boy who looked about 8 years younger. "Rin?"

Obviously, this boy wasn't Rin, but his chakra felt so similar to hers that night…

"Well I will be going." Then Kakashi took the man's body and headed back to Konoha.

The boy disappeared with the body of the rogue. Reika turned to face her team. "What just happened?"

"That man was wanted by his village, who sent their ANBU to kill him." Mangetsu looked at himself. "Well it's over, but that sure was rough. I didn't expect to encounter the Sharingan."

Reika scanned through each of her teammates' wounds. Mangetsu had burns and cuts on his body. Yagura didn't have any major wounds. Eisen, still unconscious, was all battered but not majorly hurt.

"Sit down." She began using medical jutsu to give first aid. Although she hadn't mastered it yet, it was effective in helping relieve their pain.

"Thanks, Reika." Mangetsu smiled. "I'm glad I taught you some medical jutsu before. Once Eisen wakes up, we'll head back to the village." No one spoke, only nodding.

Then a groan broke the silence, and Reika rushed over as Eisen's eyes slowly opened.

"What happened to me? Ugh. My stomach hurts."

"I'm not sure. I arrived after the battle ended. You can ask Yagura though. Maybe he knows more details. Yagura. Onegai. Come over here?"

Yagura stood up and walked over. "Hm? Oh, you're finally awake Baka."

"How dare you call me a baka. Ugh… Why?" He hugged his stomach.

"Simple. I hit you." He pointed to the staff strapped to his back.

"Why would you do that to Eisen?" Reika face changed from worry to anger.

"Baka got trapped in a genjutsu. How else was I to stop him?"

Reika's expression softened. Quietly she said, "I see…"

Mangetsu approached the three. "We should be heading back now." They headed towards the port.

* * *

It was two weeks after the incident in Wave. Team 3 were assigned more random missions although none as dangerous as the first. After they reported back that day, Mangetsu took them out to celebrate.

"Itadakimasu." The four ninjas began eating.

"So, I have been informed the next Chunin Exam is to take place six months from now." The three genin looked up. "You have exceeded my expectations, so I'd like to recommend all three of you to take it. If you become a chunin, you will be allowed to take on more taxing and long-term missions."

Yagura looked concerned. "But we have only been ninja for two weeks. There is no way we'd be ready for something like that after six months."

"But you all have great potential. This team won't be taken down that easily," Mangetsu said.

Eisen jumped up. "I say we do it. Come on Yagura. Reika, you agree right?"

"It sounds dangerous, but we need the challenge. I'm in. Yagura?"

"Fine. But Sensei, I'd like to get more training in before then."

"You will have this month to train. No backing out now." Mangetsu eyed each of his students.

"Of course not." they said in unison.

"Then we will start tomorrow. Training ground 32." Mangetsu put down his chopsticks. "I expect you to be on time." They finished their meal in silence, each thinking of their upcoming training.

* * *

"You're gonna have to jump higher to evade Reika."

It was a few days after they had started prepping for the Chuunin Exams. Mangetsu's kick made her fall. Pulling her hands up she quickly formed seals for the water prison technique. Mangetsu was in a ball of heavy water, and he fell when she released it.

"You've become better, but I'd like to see your water sword technique." He moved on to fighting Eisen.

Eisen unsheathed his sword. Unlike the first day, he didn't charge straight on. He waited for Mangetsu to make the first move. Soon water bullets were flying towards him. He deflected them and ran towards Mangetsu, who dodged. A cut appeared on Mangetsu's arm.

"Very good. You were extending its reach with chakra." Eisen swung his sword again, but Mangetsu evaded the attack and swiftly made a water sword. Eisen smiled and disappeared into a puddle. Mangetsu was on the ground as the real Eisen held his sword up at Mangetsu's chin. "Is this my win?"

"Good job. I see you have been working on your ninjutsu." He stood up and motioned for Yagura.

Yagura grabbed his staff and prepared to attack. Mangetsu shot water bullets. As they were coming towards him, a ring of water formed in front of him and created what looked like a shield, but it broke when the bullets hit.

Then he began his counter. "Wind Style: Great Typhoon." The sudden wind pushed Mangetsu who could not block in time for Yagura's staff to strike him.

"You're ninjutsu has greatly improved. Great job Yagura." Mangetsu stood up. "Alright. Yagura and Eisen, you will improve your tool fighting together. Reika, you will work with me on taijutsu."

"I'm totally gonna beat you" Eisen said with a smirk on his face.

"Bring it on Baka." Yagura replied. They began to spar as Reika walked to Mangetsu.


	8. Chapter 7: Let's Be Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 7: Let's Be Friends**

* * *

Yagura entered his apartment. He was utterly exhausted. There was only a week until the exam. Mangetsu made them go on as many missions as they could while still training hard. He plopped down on his bed and closed his eyes.

**'Hey boy. Are you awake?' **

'Yeah.' Why did the Sanbi want to talk?

**'Good.'** He opened his eyes to see the looming trees and waterfall. He was back.

**"Do you know why I called you here?"**

"No." Last time, the Sanbi said to not disturb him.

**"Well, here's the deal. I don't think you're strong enough to pass the exam."**

"What? I'm totally strong enough," he said although it wasn't true.

**"You are not. Your training hasn't gotten you anywhere. Listen, I don't want to be forced in another body if you die. I've already been forced twice in the past three years. Do you understand how painful and annoying it is going through a sealing?" **

"No." But he was beginning to understand how painful and annoying it was talking to a biju.

**"I've decided to train you. I like your water shield, so let's start with that. I have a way to make it more effective in a battle."**

"Really? How?" Why was he letting the biju train him?

**"Alright form you water shield." **A ring of water spun in front of Yagura and took shape into a disk. **"Now take the image on the mirror and mold your chakra to create copies of it. Let's test it out." **Three water bullets came from the waterfall and headed straight towards Yagura.

"I see where you are going with this." Yagura hooked his staff on it and pulled the water disk down. "Water Mirror Jutsu!" Three water bullets flew out cancelling the Sanbi's bullets.

** "Let me show you another trick. It's called killing intent."**

"Killing intent?" Why was the Sanbi still helping him?

**"It's to overwhelm your opponent with fear."**

"Why are you showing it to me?"

**"I told you. It's so I don't have to transfer to another jinchuriki."**

"Okay…" Yagura was still skeptical that was the true reason.

**"Better brace yourself." **Suddenly his whole body was shaking. His fear was nothing he ever felt before. Sweat rolled down his face and he felt the urge to vomit.

As fast it came, the sinister aura disappeared. **"And that's basically it. Now you try."**

"Were you trying to kill me?"

**"Well, that is the point. Imagine wanting your opponent to die at your hands."**

"Die."

**"It's not good enough to say it. You have to feel it with your mind and body. Everything of you wants me dead."**

"There's no way I can pull this off."

**"You can. Imagine your chakra emanating your blood lust."**

"Here goes nothing." His eyes focused on the shadow. He thought to himself, 'He is evil. He needs to be gone. Every part of me wants him gone,' and projected his killing intent to the biju.

**"Very good. Now remember that for the exams, and you are bound to win."**

"This is a lot harder than it looks." Yagura was sweating profusely and wanted to faint from exhaustion.

**"Eh, you get the hang of it eventually. It helps to want to kill your opponent."**

"Why would I want that? I don't want to kill anyone, not even you."

**"You don't want to kill me?"**

"I never really hated you. How do you expect me to hate when I hadn't even met you?"

**"Be quiet. I know you hate me. Don't lie to yourself. You wouldn't have been able to pull off the killing intent just now if you didn't."**

"Sanbi, is this the first time someone has accepted you?" Yagura couldn't help but smirk.

**"I-it's not the first time." **He muttered, **"There was the old man."**

"Aha. So, you admit that I've accepted you." Yagura smiled. "Let's be friends, Sanbi."

**"Friends? Biju don't have friends. Why would you think such a thing?"**

"Well, you did lend me chakra. And you helped me with my jutsu and taught me killing intent so I could pass my exam. And I think you're kind deep down."

The waterfall split as a hand pushed its way out. **"I see. Hit your chakra against mine." **Yagura smiled and fist bumped the biju. The Sanbi's emotions flowed through.

**"My name is Isobu."**

"Mine is Yagura. Yoroshiku Isobu."

Then he frowned. "It's not right having a friend sealed. How do I undo it?"

**"Look up. You can remove that seal."**

Yagura climbed up and grabbed onto the seal. Ripping it off, the waterfall parted, and Isobu appeared.

"Hello friend." Yagura laughed. Isobu did the same.

**"I think it's about time you woke up." **Yagura's eyes flew open. He had made a new friend.


	9. Chapter 8: The Chunin Exam

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 8: The Chunin Exams**

* * *

Today was the day. After taking passing the preliminary tests, Team 3 had made it to the final round. This year, it consisted of team battles since teams would be promoted together.

"You guys feel ready?" Reika asked.

"Heck yeah. Another chapter of our adventure has unfolded." Eisen said.

"We got this." Yagura said.

The three walked into the room. "Wow. Who knew there'd be this many making it to the final round?" They turned around to see Mangetsu standing behind them. "Good luck you three. You'll be promoted for sure." He gave them a thumbs up before flickering away.

Six teams lined in front of the Mizukage. "We will now start the final round. Please look to the electronic board." Everyone looked up to see the matches decided. "Teams 3 and 12, stay here. The rest of you head to the balcony."

"Great we're in the first match." Eisen seemed excited.

The other team approached them. "We won't go easy."

"Tsukiasa Reika, Ketsuyoku Eisen, Karatachi Yagura versus Yui Honoka, Terumi Mei, Biwa Juzo. Hajime." The Mizukage stepped away, and the battle began.

The girl named Mei ran forward. "Vapor Style: Solid Fog Jutsu!" Suddenly the area was being surrounded in a thick fog.

Yagura understood what was happening and grabbed his staff. "Wind Style: Great Typhoon." The fog was pushed back. "I made it in time. Look at the ground."

They saw the area the fog had touch was melted.

"Be careful of her. She must have a kekkei genkai. Let's switch to offense and catch them off guard."

The three ran in together. Eisen began to swing his sword at Juzo. Yagura attacked Honoka. Reika headed straight for Mei.

Swinging his staff at her, Honoka brought up a kunai to block. He withdrew his staff and thrust it towards her, but she jumped away. "You're quick on your feet," he said.

"Heh, I have to be." Suddenly Yagura was surrounded in water. He was drowning.

"What? How?"

**'Calm down. It's genjutsu. Wait one moment…'**

The water disappeared, and he was standing back in the arena. 'Thanks, Isobu. Let me try that trick you taught me.' Yagura released his killing intent, and Honoka froze. Yagura's staff pushed into her stomach, and she was down.

'I didn't think it would be that effective.'

**'Of course, it is. Otherwise, I wouldn't have shown it to you. So, do you want tips on how to beat that kekkei genkai girl?'**

He looked and saw Reika, who had several acid burns, stumble to the ground. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!"

Yagura looked at Eisen who had a large cut down his chest. Juzo swung at him, but Eisen blocked with his sword. They both jumped back, and Eisen charged again. Creating a water clone, he attacked from both sides. His sword ripped across Juzo's stomach, and Juzo was out of the battle.

'No, I think we got it.'

** 'Yeah, if you got it, why is your teammate about to be turned into a pile of mush?'**

'What?' Yagura turned to see Mei unleashing another attack on a battered Reika. He ran over forming a mirror, but it was too late. His back began to burn.

"Yagura." Reika screamed. He fell, and his back was covered in burns She began medical jutsu on his wounds.

"I thought you said you're fine. You need to win." He pointed at Mei before losing consciousness. Reika looked up feeling her blood boil. It would be too dangerous to use a hidden mist technique when Mei had her fog. Reika pulled out her wooden sword and water rushed around it. Reika's eyes were furious. "Here I come."

She swung her sword at Mei, managing to cut her arm. Mei began forming seals.

"Think I'll let you?" Reika thrusted her sword between Mei's hands. Then it came down right next to Mei's foot. She began swinging it furiously causing Mei to back into a corner. Then, Reika smirked.

"Water Prison Jutsu!" A clone had trapped Mei in a ball of water.

"When did you-"

"When you weren't paying attention. Now be good and stay there." Reika ran back over to Yagura. Eisen stumbled to where she was.

"Reika, it's not over yet." He pointed behind her. Mei had managed to escape the prison by filling it with her acidic fog. Reika frowned at Mei.

Suddenly Yagura stood up. "Yagura. You were awake?" Reika had never seen someone awaken so quickly after sustaining burns like his.

"Yeah, since two were healing me. Thanks." Then he looked at Mei. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back. "Ah, even you understand you are outnumbered."

Mei was a bothersome opponent.

'Isobu, I'd really like those tips now.'

**'What? But I don't feel like it anymore.'**

'Don't be a child. Do you want me die?'

**'You're the one who's the boy. But you have a point. We'll overwhelm her with our power. I'll show her a real killing intent. Then you go and whack her in the head.'**

'I don't want to kill her though.'

**'A blow to the head won't kill her. Maybe put her in a coma for a while.'**

'Isobu…'

**'Fine just hit her somewhere that will hurt.'**

'Okay. Let's go.'

Yagura began to walk towards her. He could feel Isobu's power emanating from him. Mei stood there paralyzed. Then he slammed his staff into her side, throwing her into the wall.

'How was that?'

**'Pretty painful but could've hit harder.'**

'How many times have I told you that I don't want to kill anyone? Do you understand at all? Hey. Are you listening to me? Isobu!'

The Mizukage stood. "Winners: Tsukiasa Reika, Ketsuyoku Eisen, and Karatachi Yagura. Medical-nin, please tend to the injured. We will now move on to the next match."


	10. Chapter 9: Warning

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 9: Warning**

* * *

"Congratulations Team 3. You three have passed the exam." Mangetsu smiled at the three shinobi.

"Yahoo. We did it." Eisen was jumping up and down.

"Eisen. If you jump like that, you'll reopen your wound." Reika scolded him.

"So, what will we be doing going forth?" Yagura asked.

"Well once everyone has healed up, we'll continue with our missions. Until then, take it easy." Then, as usual, Mangetsu flickered away.

Reika looked at Yagura. "I'm sorry I was useless during the battle. Thank you for protecting me."

"Don't worry about it. That's what friends do. On the other hand, Baka, you didn't help one bit."

"Hey. I beat the Juzo guy who was so skilled at kenjutsu."

Eisen and Yagura faced each other, looking ready to fight.

Reika hit them both in the head and stormed off. Why were boys always like this? She felt like she had to take care of them. Not that she minded though. She enjoyed having them around, especially Yagura.

She felt her cheeks growing warm. 'What am I thinking? There's no way I'd lik-'

"Reika!" She looked up. She couldn't believe it. "O-otousan. Okaasan." Her adoptive parents were walking towards her. Soon she was sitting in the not-so-empty house with them eating lunch.

"We heard you were made a chunin, so we had to rush home. Congratulations Reika. As always, you exceed our expectations."

Reika eyed them skeptically. "That's not the real reason you're here." She paused. "It's coming?"

Her parents' eyes looked down, and they nodded in unison.

"When?" She walked over to the calendar hanging on the wall.

"Two months from today. You will be careful not to go outside right?"

"Of course. I'll be cautious. Don't worry." She marked the calendar with a black circle.

"Good." The house fell silent again.

"They never stay around long enough," she murmured. Then she heard a knock on the door. Did they forget something? She opened it, and to her surprise, it was Yagura and Eisen.

"May we come in?" Yagura asked.

"Um… Sure." She showed them to the living room. "Why are you two here?"

"We wanted to apologize for earlier. Sorry Reika." Yagura bowed. Then he grabbed Eisen's shoulder and forced him into a bow as well.

"Sorry Reika." Then under his breath Eisen muttered, "Though, it's not my fault."

"It's totally fine. Give it no thought." She smiled and looked over at Yagura to see him deep in thought.

"Something the matter?" Reika asked. Yagura looked at her.

"No. But there's something I'd like to tell you two." Yagura sat the two down and explained.

"What. You have a biju inside of you. And you're friends with it." Eisen was shocked.

"Pretty much. He helped me out a lot during the Chunin Exam."

"Reika, why aren't you surprised by this?" Eisen looked over.

"Because I already knew. It's not that big of a deal. Yagura is still Yagura." Looking over into his pink eyes, she continued, "I'm glad you made friends with it. I knew you'd be able to."

"T-thanks." He looked away blushing. "Well anyways, the reason I told you two is because Isobu – oh, that's its name – wants me train alone with him. But in order to do that, I need to leave the village. The Mizukage has allowed it. However, I don't think Sensei will let me. Will you two tell him an excuse?"

"When will you be leaving?" Reika was concerned.

"Tonight. I want to start as soon as possible." Yagura looked dead serious.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Probably a month or two." He began to stand up. "Well I better get going."

Eisen suddenly stood up and blocked Yagura's path. "W-wait. A month or two? How are we supposed make up an excuse for that long?"

"I don't know, Baka. Think of something." Then he left.

"That Yagura. Ugh. He gets on my nerves." Eisen stormed out of the house.

Reika was left alone once again. That night, she dreamt of a night she had hoped to never think of again.

_The house was dark. A four-year-old girl wandered the hallways. She called out, "Oneesan. Where are you?" She looked out the window. The sky was dark, and the air was cold. There was a scream._

_"Oneesan?" She slid open the back door. She saw her sister reaching out for her sword lying on the ground a few inches from her grasp. An unknown man stood over her. He grabbed her sister's sword and stabbed her. _

_"Run… Reika…" Blood spilled from her sister's mouth before her hand dropped. She was dead. _

_Reika screamed. She looked up at the sky and saw the sun – no, a black circle. Then her vision began to blur, and before she realized it, she was sitting on the dead man with a sword through his heart. Reika stood up, too fazed to realize she was covered in blood. She stumbled into the house and collapsed._

Reika woke up drenched in sweat. Breathing heavily, she put on her glasses and poured a glass of water. Why did she have to have that dream? She shook her head and looked at the calendar.

Only two months left.


	11. Chapter 10: Training

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 10: Training**

* * *

Running through the trees, Yagura saw the sea. 'Hey Isobu. How much longer until we get there?'

**'If you didn't stop at that bakery, we'd already be there.'**

'It's not my fault that the bread smelt so good that I had to buy some.'

**'Pay attention to where you're going. We're going to go to a deserted island after all.'**

'Alright, alright. But how do you expect me to get to the island if no one goes there?'

**'I'll lend you some chakra so keep running straight across the sea until we get there.'**

'You must be crazy. I'm not going to risk my life to get there. There's no way we'll make it alive. Hey. Are you listening to me Isobu?'

**'You're too loud Yagura. Trust me and let me take over.' **

He let Isobu take control and began thinking to himself. He recalled his conversation with Reika the night they became ninja.

_"You're not the biju. You are Yagura and my friend."_

Those were her words, yet what was he doing, training with the biju.

_"I want to specialize in medical jutsu, so I can protect our team."_

That's right. She always put the team first.

_"Come on guys. Or else you'll fall behind me."_

He wasn't going to let Reika get ahead of him. There were people counting on him back home. Mangetsu … Eisen … Reika… He wouldn't fail them.

* * *

(A Few Hours Later)

Yagura sat on the shore wringing his clothes. "I am never trusting you in situations like this again."

**'How was I supposed to know there was a big storm today?'**

"I-so-bu."

**'Sorry, sorry. So, now that we've arrived, let me explain. I want to practice biju transformations.'**

"Biju transformations?"

**'Essentially, you utilize my power and take my form. But to do it well, we must be in sync. Also, typically, a biju would take some of the jinchuriki's chakra during the transformation. But I like you, and if I killed you, it would be a pain to be resealed, so don't worry about losing any chakra.'**

'Thanks, Isobu.' Yagura grinned. 'See you are nice after all.'

**'Yeah, yeah. First let's try entering a biju mode. Maintain your own size while using my chakra.'**

Yagura felt a sudden surge of power. Isobu's chakra enveloped his body and felt himself change. He grew three tails and landed on four legs.

**'Good. Seems like you're stable. Alright let's try some jutsu. Give me control for a second.'**

Isobu ran up to a nearby tree. He swiped his foot at it which incased it in a shell of coral.

'Whoa.'

**"This is called the coral palm technique. If you are able to touch your opponent, they will be immobilized in coral. Now give it a shot."**

Yagura ran up to the next tree with all his might, but only one piece of coral formed on the trunk.

* * *

(One and a Half Months Later)

The sun began to rise. A boy walked up to the village gate. His clothes were battered up, and his sand-colored hair was matted in several places. He slowly entered the village.

"Tadaima."

Reika was at home practicing her water sword technique when she heard someone knocking on her door. Who could it be? Eisen and Mangetsu were training, so it couldn't be those two. She opened the door to see a smiling Yagura.

"Hey Reika."

"Y-Yagura. You're back." She hugged him tightly.

"Can I come in?" Yagura pointed inside.

"Of course. Come in." They went to the living room. "When did you get back?"

"This morning. I reported to Mizukage-sama already."

"How did it go?" She gazed at him with curious eyes.

"It went well. Isobu and I worked on our battle coordination."

"That's great to hear." She poured him a cup of tea. "I'm sure Mangetsu-sensei and Eisen will be happy to hear you've returned."

Yagura picked up the cup and sipped. "What excuse did you tell Sensei?"

"Oh." She began giggling. "Eisen told him your aunt had a child and you went to see her, but Mangetsu-sensei didn't buy it. In the end, we told him the truth."

Yagura raised his eyebrows. "And what did he say?"

"He was mad at first. But after a week, he stopped because even if he wanted to, he didn't know how to make you come back."

"As I expected. Did you go on any missions?"

She nodded. "A few, although they weren't very hard. Of course, we trained on the side. I've been improving my water sword jutsu. Let me show you."

She grabbed onto her wooden sword and enveloped it in water.

"Tada. I can stabilize it without seals. Though it's still difficult without this." She formed some seals, and a water blade appeared in her hand. But when she swung, it dispersed.

"I'll get it eventually. Sensei said that I don't necessarily need to perfect it if I'm fine with this." She held up her wooden sword.

Then Eisen burst into the house. "Reika. Big news. Mizukage-sama has assigned us to a-" He froze. "Y-Yagura."

"Hey Baka. I'm back."

"What? How? Huh?" He was dumbfounded. He looked at Yagura to Reika and back. "When did you get back?"

"What's all the commotion?" Mangetsu came in and saw Yagura.

"Hello Mangetsu-sensei." Yagura was trying to act calm.

"Now look here, you can't just go leaving on some journey. I am still your sensei and responsible for you." Mangetsu pointed his finger at Yagura.

"Mizukage-sama allowed me to go, so I don't see what the harm is."

"What? Mizukage-sama did. That explains why he gave us a large mission. Guess it can't be helped." Mangetsu sighed and looked at Reika. "Mizukage-sama has assigned us to escort a very important man to the daimyo's palace."

"Very important man?" asked Reika.

"Yes. He is a relative of the daimyo. We will be departing tomorrow morning from the east gate."

The house fell silent. On the calendar, there were only four days left until the mark.


	12. Chapter 11: A New Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 11: A New Mission**

* * *

The three chunin stood defensively in front of the palanquin. They had set out from the village only a few hours ago and had already encountered trouble.

They could hear Mangetsu fighting in the surrounding area. One of the rogue ninja had escaped Mangetsu and confronted the chunin. The rogue ninja smiled wildly. "You're going to let me kill him." He pointed to the palanquin behind them.

"No way in hell." Eisen spit out and drew his sword.

"Then you three will just going have to die along with him. Earth Style: Hidden Rock Jutsu." The man suddenly disappeared. Rock walls shot up and surrounded them. A shadow was cast down as large boulders began to fall towards them.

"Reika, watch out." Yagura pushed Reika out of the way as a boulder fell where she was once standing. Reika widened her eyes as a kunai dug into her shoulder. She could still feel pressure being forced on the kunai. She swiftly wove seals and trapped herself and the rogue in a water prison technique.

"Got you." She smiled.

"But you're trapped in here as well." The rogue's jutsu wore off as he reappeared in front of her. A hook grabbed her while a sword ran into the rogue's gut.

"Nice guys." Reika was pulled entirely out save her left arm. She looked into the prison. "I have teammates unlike you who are alone currently."

"Curse you." Eisen's sword slid out of his body. The rogue hugged his stomach and collapsed in his prison. However, what seemed to blood was actually mud. She felt a presence behind her and whipped around to see Yagura leaning back, his left cheek bloody. A kunai had cut his face. He cried out in pain.

"Yagura." She ran over him as Eisen covered for them. Her glowing hand passed over his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Now we really have to get serious. Let me get back in the battle." She nodded and closed the wound with some stitches. He stood up and faced the rogue while motioning for Eisen to stand back. "Look at what you did. Now let me repay you tenfold."

Yagura became cloaked in red chakra, and it fused with him. His body warped to that of a three-tailed creature. Stomping down, coral rushed out in all directions, breaking down the rock walls.

The rogue threw shuriken at Yagura, but he simply deflected them with his tail. Then he ran towards the rogue and incased his body in coral.

"M-monster." The rogue was petrified with fear.

"I won't kill you. I'm too nice for that. But you've hurt my teammates and I far too much." Visible energy was collecting at Yagura's mouth. He launched it at the rogue. "Biju bomb."

There was a large explosion before the rogue fell to the ground, his body burnt in several places. Yagura reverted back to himself and looked down. "You underestimated us."

The rogue stared back. "Curse you." He fell unconscious.

Yagura turned around and looked at his teammates. "Well that takes care of that. I believe Sensei is done on his side too."

As if it was timed, Mangetsu appeared before them. "Looks like you three were fine over here. Nicely done." He sealed the body of the rogue into a scroll. "We'll deal with them when we return."

* * *

Team 3 had successfully escorted the daimyo's relative to the palace. They arrived on the third day and spent the night in the palace town before beginning their journey back to the Hidden Mist village.

Reika woke up and headed to the main room. There she saw Yagura polishing his staff.

"Good morning Yagura. Where are Sensei and Eisen?"

"Still sleeping." He didn't look up. She walked over and held up his chin with her left hand. His eyes met hers. With her right hand, she gently ran her fingers down his left cheek. "Does it still hurt?"

"No, it's fine now. Don't worry about it. Scars show true strength and survival." She was still worried. If he had given her more time, she could have healed it better. She wouldn't have left the ghastly stitch-like scar running down his face.

They sat silently together until the rest of Team 3 awoke. They began to make their way back.

* * *

As they were running through the forest, suddenly a gust of wind passed through. A woman stood before them. She had dark blue hair with an origami rose ornament. Her cloak was black with red clouds.

"Who are you?" Mangetsu yelled.

"That information is unnecessary. You will die here." The woman then began to attack with origami paper. The four ninja dodged the attack.

"You three. Keep moving. I'll keep her busy. Get back to the village." Mangetsu yelled. Eisen looked like he was about to protest, but Mangetsu yelled, "Go."

The three left, but soon Eisen stopped. "We have to go back and help him. That woman's too strong."

"No. We have to keep moving Baka. Sensei gave us this opportunity to escape."

"Yagura is right, Eisen. We have to keep moving," Reika protested.

"I'm going to help him." Eisen began to run back.

"We have to stop him Yagura."

"That baka. Just leave him be. If he knew what he was getting into…" Yagura began to run again.

Reika looked back and forth between Yagura and Eisen and decided to chase after Eisen. She had to bring him back before he got into trouble.

"Eisen. Stop." Reika tried to catch up, but he continued to run.

"Reika. I'm not stopping." Suddenly they felt a shock wave coming from Yagura's direction. The two looked each other and turned around.

They arrived in a valley where they saw a masked man standing over Yagura's body. The man wore an orange mask and a black cloak.

Reika looked down at Yagura's unconscious body and back up at the man. Then she saw it. The red eye through the one hole in the mask.

That man possessed the Sharingan.


	13. Chapter 12: Eclipse

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 12: Eclipse**

* * *

Eisen charged towards the masked man.

"Wait. That man is dangerous." Reika called out. But Eisen didn't stop.

"Hey Orange. What did you do to Yagura?" He swung his sword at the man, but it passed straight through him. He jumped back.

Reika ran up to Eisen and whispered, "That man has the Sharingan, like the rogue we met in the Land of Waves." His eyes widened. "Don't look in his eye." He nodded and proceeded more cautiously.

This man, however, seemed to have a more curious power. Attacks passed right through him. How would they be able to strike if they couldn't touch him?

"Eisen. Let's try to confuse him with clones." He nodded in response.

"Water Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly there were several clones of Eisen and Reika.

The Reika clones activated their water sword technique with wooden swords.

The Eisen clones drew their swords. Everyone charged at the man, but all of their attacks passed through him. "It's useless," the man said. Suddenly, he was trapped in a water prison technique. They thought they had him, but he disappeared and reappeared outside of the prison.

"Like I said, it's useless." Reika and Eisen were stunned by what had happened.

"Reika, you saw that too, right? Orange teleported outside of your jutsu." Eisen glanced in her direction.

"Yeah… Maybe it has something to do with the Sharingan eye. He must have a weakness though."

They looked back at the masked man, but he had disappeared again. Reika felt a presence behind her and turned around right before she was strongly kicked in the stomach sending her meters back.

"Reika!" Eisen turned to face the man. "Orange. How dare you kick Reika." He charged and attacked.

Reika landed on her back. She looked up at the sky and had a sudden realization. Today was the day. She promised them she would stay inside. The sky was growing darker by the minute. It was going to begin soon. Now it was too late to keep that promise.

Blood splattered against her cheek. Reika sat up, and her eyes grew wide. Eisen was standing in front of her clenching the blade with his hands. The end of the sword was thrusted through his chest.

The masked man pulled the sword out and threw it aside. Eisen's body crumpled as Reika caught him. The man did not give her a second glance as he began to walk towards Yagura.

"Eisen!" She knelt setting him gently on the ground. Her hands were already drenched red as she began performing medical jutsu.

"Reika… Forget about me…" He began coughing up blood.

"Quiet. I can still save you. Eisen, you're going to be alright." Tears were welling up.

"My sword?" Reika grabbed his sword and held it towards him. His weak hand grabbed the hilt as he smiled. His breathing was growing shallow, and his face was turning pale.

"Take this… beat Orange… Promise me… save Yagura… live…"

She held his hand and took his sword. "I promise," she whispered.

"You can tell him… I was a… baka… 'til… the… end…" Eisen's hand went slack. This couldn't be happening. "No!" She began pushing against his chest and looking for a heartbeat, but it was no use. She watched as the light left his eyes, those eyes that once shined with determination.

Eisen was dead.

She felt as warm liquid rolled down her cheeks, streaming until they hit the face of her now dead teammate. Her screams changed from sadness to anger as the masked man turned around.

"I was supposed to protect them. Why did I learn medical jutsu if it couldn't save him?" Reika stood up. With Eisen's sword in her hand, she pointed at the masked man. This time she would keep her promise.

"I will kill you." At that moment, the valley became covered in darkness, and a coldness rushed in. It had begun. Reika's irises turned pitch black, with just a ring of red glowing on their outskirts. Her tears turned to blood as her killing intent echoed throughout the valley.

She enveloped Eisen's sword in water and charged at the man. His eye widened as she attacked. He could feel her chakra levels skyrocketing. She quickly multiplied with a water clone technique. Hundreds of clones were madly attacking the masked man with their swords.

The hundred clones were reduced to only her true body as she battled with the masked man. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. She smirked and looked him straight in the eye.

The man tried to activate a genjutsu, but his eye began to burn. Looking at her eyes was like looking at the sun. He tried to blink the spots out of his eyes, but his vision began to fail him.

Then he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. Pain. He looked down to see a sword pierced through his chest. He gripped it, and his left hand was soaked in the warm, red liquid before the world went dark.

"I promised him." Reika continued to stab the man over and over until she ensured that he was dead.

Light to the valley was then restored. Reika's eyes returned to their normal brown. She looked down at the body she was standing over. Her own clothes were stained red. She was still holding Eisen's sword, which was dripping with blood.

"I did it… Eisen…"

Reika stumbled over to Yagura. She lifted his head up. Now that the masked man was dead, she could tell whatever genjutsu he was under had disappeared. Then she walked to Eisen's body.

The sun fully shined as she sat there. She heard a groan. She looked at Yagura, and his eyes met hers. "Reika? Why are you covered in blood? Where's that Baka?"

She quietly turned her eyes to body next to her.

Yagura's eyes widened. He somehow made it to his feet, slowly walking over to where Reika was. His legs gave way as he looked down.

"Why? Why? What happened?" In his eyes, all she saw was confusion and sadness.

"I promised him… I would save you… and I would live…" Her eyes were downcast. Yagura looked at the bloody sword next to her.

"It wasn't supposed to end this way… the adventures of Team 3…" she whispered.

Yagura quietly asked, "What about the masked man?"

She pointed at the body lying several meters away. "I killed him…" Then she grabbed onto Yagura's muffler, pulling him towards her, and began to sob. "I killed him. I didn't want to kill again."

All he could do was hold her as she broke down in his arms.

* * *

**A/N**

**If you didn't guess already, Reika has a kekkei genkai doujutsu which only activates at the time of a solar eclipse. I thought it would be interesting for there to be a powerful kekkei genkai that could only activate with an natural event rather than whenever the user wants it to. **

**And, yes, Obito is really dead. Reika's eyes have the power to destroy eyesight as if you were looking at a solar eclipse without protection. That made his Sharingan useless against her.**

**\- TK**


	14. Chapter 13: ANBU

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter 13: ANBU**

* * *

Yagura looked down at Reika. She had passed out from grief and, most likely, chakra exhaustion.

That baka. If only he had chased after him like Reika did, this wouldn't have happened. He thought back to what had happened after they were separated.

_When he entered the clearing, there was a masked man standing there. Yagura pulled out his staff._

_"Who are you."_

_The masked man stared him in the eyes. "You will be very useful for me." _

_There was a large shock wave. The world began to spin, and Yagura fell to the ground._

That's all he could remember. He looked at the body of the man. How did Reika defeat him? Then a noise came from the forest. Yagura grabbed his staff and took a defensive stance. A man ran out of the shadows. It was Mangetsu.

"Everyone. Are you alright?"

'Isobu, can you see if that's a transformation technique?'

**'Give me a second. It seems that is his real chakra signature.'**

'Good.' Yagura relaxed and put his staff away.

"Mangetsu-sensei. What happened to the origami woman?"

"She mumbled 'He's dead,' and then disappeared as paper. But never mind that. What happened here? I thought you three went back to the village."

Yagura pointed at the masked corpse. "That masked man got in our way. I think he put me in a genjutsu. I wasn't awake for most of the battle, but Reika and Eisen protected me. But then Eisen, that baka…" He glanced over at his two teammates. His voice turned to a whisper. "…was killed by the masked man… And then Reika killed the masked man…"

Mangetsu stood in disbelief. "How could I have let this happen?" he muttered to himself.

_Drip, drip, drip._

Where was she? Reika felt darkness closing in around her. She looked down at her hands where she saw a blade clenched around her blood-drenched fingers. Whose blood was it? Her hand came up to her face where she wiped away deep red tears as they streamed down her face, dripping to the ground.

_Drip, drip, drip._

Her eyes slowly widened as she realized she was sitting on a man, the unknown man who had attacked all those years ago. Then suddenly, she wasn't sitting on that man from her past but on the masked man instead, his black coat spread across the ground and his body with multiple stab wounds. The orange mask glaring at her with the one empty black hole.

_Drip, drip, drip._

She scrambled away from the body pulling the sword out, but she felt something pull on it. Looking down, there was Eisen, his hand grasped tightly on the handle of the sword as he offered it to her in his dying moment, his smiling mouth with blood flowing out.

"No!" she screamed. Her bloodshot eyes shot open to meet soft pink ones, a warm hand holding hers.

"Yagura?" She looked at him confused. "Where-"

"We're at the hospital." He watched as she adjusted to the surroundings. Tears formed in her eyes.

"Eisen?" She looked as if she was hoping that the day before was all a dream, but in her eyes, Yagura could already see the grief had sunken in. He simply shook his head.

"Oh," she whispered softly. They sat there quietly, letting reality set in.

* * *

(The Next Day)

They held a funeral for Eisen the next day. Other than Team 3 and some select jonin, no one else came.

Yagura heard Reika mumble, "I didn't realize he was this alone. That optimistic Eisen. He just wanted to be recognized."

After everyone else left, Yagura and Reika were still standing in front of the grave. She crouched down and passed her hand over the carved letters. _Ketsuyoku Eisen. _

This didn't feel right to Yagura. All he ever did was call Eisen a baka, but Eisen gave his life to protect them. He vowed he was never going to let another friend die again, even if it meant killing the enemy.

Then Mangetsu appeared before them. "Yagura, Reika, Mizukage-sama requests your presence."

"Yes sir." Yagura looked down at Reika. "Come on, Reika. Let's go."

She nodded, and they left for the Mizukage's office. When they arrived, Yagura knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called from the room.

The two shinobi walked into the room. In front of them stood a few ANBU as well as the Mizukage.

"You wished to see us Mizukage-sama?" Yagura asked.

"Yes." He signals to the ANBU. "You are dismissed." Then the room was left with only the three. "I wanted to commend you on completing your mission. You survived an encounter with one of the three great dojutsu not once, but twice."

"And what of it?" Yagura's expression was emotionless.

The Mizukage folded his hands. "I'd like you two to join the ANBU. This isn't an offer but an order."

"But why Mizukage-sama?" Reika suddenly asked.

"Because Reika, it would be better if I can use two powerful shinobi as yourselves."

"I understand." She seemed to agree with him, although her expression said otherwise.

"From now on, you are to use codenames. Reika, your name is Rai. Yagura, your name is Tou. I expect you both to report to me when called. Now go to down to the equipment room. I have already put in a request for your gear. You are dismissed."

Yagura and Reika bowed and slowly walked down to the basement and went up to the window labeled "Equipment." The two grabbed the sets of gear and began their return home.

As they were walking, Reika turned to Yagura and said, "Are you really okay with this? He's obviously doing this to keep our powers in check. We'll never be free again."

Yagura replied, "Do we really have any other choice? It's all we can do in this corrupted village."

She understood firsthand how this bloody village treated those with kekkei genkai. Their village was corrupted indeed. If Eisen became Mizukage, would he have been able to change things?

Yagura nodded. "One day, I'm going to fix this village. Do you remember our first day?"

Reika tilted her head. "I do. But why bring that up?"

"I told everyone that I wanted to learn how to control my chakra. But now that Isobu and I are friends, I have achieved that goal."

"So, what you're saying now is that you need a new goal?"

"No. I already have a new goal. I will fulfill his dream. I'm going to become Mizukage. Then I'll fix this place. When I achieve this goal, will you be at my side?" His eyes were serious.

"Of course. It is my dream to be the Mizukage's right hand shinobi. I'd be honored to be yours Yagura."

Yagura and Reika stood outside the Mizukage's office. They were wearing the standard ANBU uniform along with their weapons. Yagura had his staff while Reika had Eisen's sword.

Their eyes met. "Ready?" he asked Reika.

"Ready," she replied.

He thought to himself, 'Eisen. We're moving on without you. But one day, this broken village will be fixed. We're going to fulfill your dream as well as ours.'

They put on their masks and entered the room.


	15. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Epilogue**

* * *

Two figures stood at a grave. There was a girl with straight black hair, brown eyes, and glasses and a boy with sand-colored hair, pink eyes, and a scar running down his face.

The boy spoke first. "Eisen. The Sandaime was killed in a battle. They will be deciding on the new Mizukage tomorrow. As expected, the strongest ninja in the village will be made Mizukage."

The girl looked at the boy and back at the stone. "I can't believe it's been two years since you passed Eisen. Don't worry. I haven't broken my promise."

The boy nodded. "We should be going." Then the two disappeared.

* * *

"Karatachi Yagura. As the strongest shinobi, you are the Yondaime Mizukage." The council elder handed Yagura the Mizukage hat. He put it on and turned towards the crowd of shinobi.

"From this day forward, the Bloody Mist Village ends here. We will work towards a better Hidden Mist." Everyone cheered. Reika looked up at Yagura and smiled. 'Can you see this Eisen? He did it.'

The next morning, in the Mizukage's office, Yagura was busy cleaning it and sorting through the papers. Now that he was Mizukage, he was going to make sure he stayed organized and settled matters quickly.

He began to read the next document when he felt arms wrap around him. A voice spoke from behind. "Do you want some help?" He turned his head to see Reika smiling at him.

"Don't be ridiculous. As Mizukage, I'll figure it out somehow." He pushed her arms away. "How many times have I told you to stop doing that?"

"Hai, hai, Mizukage-sama. Whatever you say." She gave him a cute look. Moving some papers aside, she sat down on his desk and picked up a nearby document, but Yagura snatched it from her hands. "I told you I'll do it myself."

"Okay no need to get angry." Yagura stood up and looked out the window. The mist was tinged with red as the sun began to rise. "Well, paperwork is the least of my worries right now. I need to put a stop to that first." He pointed to the academy. "I'm meeting with the council later today."

"That's great to hear." She jumped down and pecked him on the cheek. "Well I'll leave you to your duties, Yagura-sama." She winked and left the room.

'Well, I was going to ask her to keep me company, but I guess not.'

**'Well she is your girlfriend. Maybe you should go run after her before she finds another man.' **

'Oh, be quiet Isobu.' Although he seemed to disagree, Yagura chased after Reika.

As the door closed, the room became empty. Outside the window, the red mist disappeared as the sun fully entered the sky.

* * *

**A/N**

**Thank you for reading this story completely! Or if you are skipping to the end to see if this is a story you would like, thanks for at least giving it a shot. **

**This was my first ever fanfiction, so it's not as polished as I would have liked, and there's always room for improvement. Writing it, though, was a lot of fun, and I'll be lying if I didn't say I was obsessed with writing until I finished it.**

**Sorry for all the spelling and grammar errors. I try my best to proofread everything I write.**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed it! This wraps up _Clearing the Mist_. Thanks to everyone who's read this.**

**\- TK**


End file.
